Rx Drug Abuse Is on the Increase, HHS Reports

Author: Ken Rankin

New research suggests a disturbing
trend toward prescription drug abuse
among the nation's teenagers?a development
that health officials say
could create new opportunities for
pharmacists to counsel youths and
their parents about the dangers of
recreational Rx drug use.

Although the reported use of "street
drugs" such as marijuana, LSD, and
ecstasy has dropped, the latest results
from the government's National Survey
on Drug Use and Health found a
5% rise in recreational Rx drug use by
individuals age 12 and over, and a
15% increase in Rx abuse by 18- to 25-year-olds.

Much of the abuse involved prescription
painkillers such as Vicodin,
Lortab, and Lorcet, but the researchers
also reported significant misuse of psychotherapeutic
medications.

"There were 6.3 million persons currently
using prescription medications
nonmedically in 2003, about 2.7% of
the population aged 12 or older," an
official at the Department of Health
and Human Services said. "Of these, an
estimated 4.7 million used prescription
pain relievers; 1.8 million used tranquilizers;
1.2 million used stimulants,
including methamphetamines; and 0.3
million used sedatives."